Indians Prospect Insider

Low-A Lake County is loaded with lots of young talent that is very raw and has lots of upside. But there are also some other players like Jerrud Sabourin, Todd Hankins, Cody Anderson, Shawn Morimando and the recently departed Grant Sides that may not have had the notoriety coming into the season that have all had good seasons to date, and Tony recently sat down with manager Dave Wallace to discuss those players in depth as well as many other things.

The Indians got the post-4th of July celebration cranked up with lots of good performances up and down their farm system on Thursday night. Tony chimes in on Around the Farm today to recap some of those good - and some bad - performances, and takes special note of the Double-A debut of Tyler Holt and the smoking hot Joe Wendle in Mahoning Valley.

The Akron Aeros lost a tough back-and-forth battle, 8-6, to the Erie Seawolves Thursday on the road at Jerry Uht Park. Both the Aeros and the Seawolves put eleven hits on the board, but a clutch single by Erie designated hitter Rawley Bishop in the bottom of the eighth inning would seal the deal for the Seawolves.

The Indians continued their winnings ways on Thursday night with a 3-1 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays in the first game of a four game set. The Indians have now won three in a row and six of their last eight games, and with three games left before the All Star break they will look to finish strong this weekend. Jason Ruggiero shares his "second thoughts" on last night's Tribe victory...

The Carolina Mudcats (9-5) were able to bounce back from the beat down they received on Wednesday night to take the second game of the series from the Salem Red Sox (4-10) with a 4-3 win on Thursday night. After starter Michael Goodnight retired the side in order in the top of the first, Right fielder Bo Greenwell stroked a solo shot over the right field wall in the bottom of the inning to give the Mudcats an early 1-0 lead.

One night after exploding for 13 runs on 17 hits, the Columbus Clippers (43-44) could only muster a single run on Thursday as they fell to the Toledo Mud Hens (35-52) by a final score of 6-1. This loss meant a split of the four-game series at Fifth Third Field.

The Scrapper offense must be fond of multiples of two,because a pair of huge innings in the second and fourth paved the way what was a testy 11-1 Scrapper rout of the Aberdeen Ironbirds on Thursday night. Certainly the Scrappers are no strangers to early scoring, as they have scored 24 runs total in the first and second inning this season, with those two innings accounting for over a third of their total run production alone.

The Lake County Captains (7-7, 38-45) could not muster close to any offense against the West Michigan Whitecaps (8-6, 44-40) as starter Marcelo Carreno (4-5, 3.32 ERA) shutout the Captains over seven innings and finished a 5-1 victory on Thursday night.

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday! The Captains started the holiday fireworks early in the week with a walk-off win and a 2012 draft pick getting his first professional win (both happened in the same game). Lianna Holub details the week that was for the Captains in her weekly notebook "On-Deck with the Captains".

In today’s piece Tony looks at the amazing turnaround by outfielder Nick Weglarz and what kind of future he may still have with the Indians, the emergence of promising lefty Ryan Merritt and how he is being developed, the growth of third baseman Jorge Martinez and the unlimited potential he has, comments from Ross Atkins on some players at Columbus, and lots of updates, insight, and scouting information on players like Eric Berger, Bryce Stowell, Mike Rayl, Jose Ramirez, Joe Wendle, Juan Herrera, and more.

The Cleveland Indians have been looking for a right-handed outfielder with some pop for a while now, and Akron Aeros outfielder Jeremie Tice is looking to fill the role someday. Tice has had a banner year with the bat and recently transitioned to the outfield, and Nathan Kemp gives an update how things are going.

The Columbus Clippers and Lake County Captains each provided fireworks with no less than eight ballplayers on each team with multiple hits, and every player finding a way to get on base. Ryan Rohlinger celebrated his recent Triple A promotion with a grand slam, while Jose Ramirez had three more hits in Lake County. The star of the ATF show is an outfielder in Akron, who continues to climb back up the prospect charts. Find out who it is, after the jump...

The Akron Aeros have enjoyed prolific offensive outbursts this season, and they have benefited often from terrific pitching performances. The two haven’t always occurred on the same night, however. That changed Wednesday night in Erie, as the Aeros snapped a three-game losing streak with a 9-2 victory over the SeaWolves at Jerry Uht Park.

The streaking Scrappers returned to Eastwood Field Wednesday looking to give the fans an early fireworks display against the Aberdeen Ironbirds before the real show that was to take place post-game at Eastwood Field. Mother Nature forced the fans to wait awhile for their fireworks, bringing a downpour in the top of ninth that caused an hour and a half rain delay.

The Indians exploded for 12 runs on 15 hits in a 12-3 win over the Angels on Independence Day. The game quickly turned into a laugher in the second inning when a three-run homer by Kotchman put the Indians up 9-1. Charlie Adams shares his "second thoughts" on the game and breaks down another Indians' series win.

The Carolina Mudcats (9-4) were overwhelmed by the Salem Red Sox (3-10) on Independence day as they fell 12-3 on Wednesday. The fireworks started early for the Red Sox as they put up five runs in the first inning against Mudcat starter Will Roberts.

The Lake County Captains shined in situational hitting on Wednesday as a couple of two-out hits propelled them past the West Michigan Whitecaps in a 6-1 victory. All-Star Joe Colon (7-8, 3.01) took the bump for the Captains against West Michigan lefty Thomas Collier (6-6, 2.50).

The Columbus Clippers (43-43) routed the Toledo Mud Hens (34-52) in Fifth Third Field on Wednesday by a final score of 13-3. There was plenty of offense to go around in this Independence Day contest, as all but one of the Columbus batters came away with at least a hit.

What better a topic to discuss than the Carolina Mudcats, and their ascension to glory. The Mudcats are in a dogfight for first place in the Southern Division of the Carolina League, and playing their most inspired baseball of the season. Jesus Aguilar is leading the team in nearly every offensive category, and turning many heads as he gets ready to head towards the upper levels of the minors. Join Jim Pete with his weekly foray to the Carolina fishing hole, with Fishing for Mudcats...

It is Wednesday, which means it is time to take stock on some of the players in the Indians’ minor league system. This report is a snapshot of a few players up and down the system and how their value may be decreasing or increasing as prospects. This week's report has over 20 players and features the likes of Cody Allen, Corey Kluber, Thomas Neal, Bryce Stowell, Jake Lowery, Shawn Armstrong, Jose Ramirez, Mason Radeke, Luis DeJesus, Jacob Lee, Dillon Howard, Matt Packer, and more.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!